Related Links

Disease leaves lasting mark on plantations

Bill EllzeyCorrespondent

Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 12:18 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 12:18 p.m.

Thibodaux’s Leonidas Polk is best remembered as the “fighting bishop,” for taking leave of his Episcopal flock to serve as a Confederate general in the Civil War, but he had earlier battled deadly cholera among his slaves on Leighton plantation.

“The cholera appeared the winter of 1848-49,” Mrs. Polk wrote in her “notes.” Her words, and those of Bishop Polk, were quoted in the 1893 biography, “Leonidas Polk, Bishop and General,” by William Mecklenburg Polk.

“Great pains were taken by my husband to preserve the health of the Negroes by clothing them in flannel and having their quarters under extraordinary police and sanitary regulations,” she wrote.

Cholera, an acute, diarrheal illness caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, has been largely controlled by antibiotics and sanitary practices, but in mid-1800, science had not learned it was spread by contaminated food and water.

Despite the personal ministrations of the bishop and his wife, apparently out of genuine humanitarian concern, cholera in 1849 killed more that 100 of Leighton plantation’s Negro slaves. The bishop himself was stricken and survived.

“We were absolutely so occupied as hardly to have a moment for anything but attention to the sick and dying, so could do nothing in the way of advising our friends of our condition,” Polk wrote to a family friend.

“Of all the population on my place, white and black, amounting to over four hundred souls ... not more than, say, fifty did not have the disease. We lost one hundred and six, among them some of our best people. You will regret to hear that our old friend, Jeff (a slave) was of the number. He died as a Christian would desire to die, at his post. He was of great service as a nurse, and was most faithful.”

Mrs. Polk worked among the sick morning to late evening “going from bedside to bedside trying to soothe and comfort the sick and dying: whilst the bishop went from house to house, encouraging and brightening by his presence; always near the dying, praying fervently for the departing spirit.

“The first cases were on the 11th day of May, 1849,” Mrs. Polk reported. “In a few hours five deaths occurred. The best medical skill was obtained; but medicine and attention seemed powerless.

“In five weeks 76 souls were hurried into eternity; thirty other persons were so enfeebled that they all died within three weeks. ... At one period of the epidemic, of 396 Negroes on the place, there were not enough well to take care of the sick.

“The last case of the cholera occurred on the 7th of June, when a very fine servant named Wright, by trade a blacksmith, was attacked. His master had been reading and praying with him. Wright raised his head, and said, ‘Master, lift me up.’ ‘I am afraid to, Wright,’ the bishop replied; ‘the doctors say it may be fatal.’

“ ‘I am dying now, master; lift me up.’ The bishop raised him, when Wright suddenly threw his arms around his master’s neck, and exclaimed, ‘Now, master, I can die in peace. I do love you so I have often wanted to hug you, and now let me die with my head on your breast and you praying for me.’ His wish was complied with, and soon he was at rest.”

Within two years, Polk realized Leighton could not recover from the epidemic and damages from a subsequent destructive wind storm.

“That the revenues of his plantation would be insufficient to discharge the heavy debts which had accumulated ... after a series of negotiations, Leighton passed from his possession.”

The 1849 U.S. cholera epidemic was studied by English physician James Wynne, who included surveys of Thibodaux area plantation losses in his 1852 report to British health authorities.

The surveys sought information about contacts among victims and the weather at the time of the epidemic.

Col. Key, whose “residence and Negro quarters (were) two miles below Thibodaux” said his slaves first attacked had been making sugar, and had had no contact with the bayou or Thibodaux.

“The first case ... was a young Negro man, subject to diarrhea; he died. The weather was then misty, cloudy, and warm for the season (December and January).

“In April the cholera reappeared; two men and a child died within the first week ... about 20 attacks again occurred. The weather was delightful. The disease appeared again in the last of May ... in all 60 or 65 attacks and nine deaths.

“There were about 150 on the place; none of the adjoining neighbors had the disease.”

The Lafourche surveys revealed no patterns supporting either weather or personal contact transmission of the cholera. “How the poison reached here we cannot tell, nor are we disposed to deny that it has remained ever since its arrival.”

Death could be frighteningly sudden: “Mr. Ayres, a respectable mechanic, of good habits, was working on a plantation three or four miles up the bayou, on which there had been no cholera; he was attacked with diarrhea ... then got on a horse, and rode to town; was almost exhausted when he arrived; began to vomit, and continued to purge until he collapsed and died.

“The next morning an old Negro man who waited on him, went into collapse without any known warning, and died. A female who came over to see Ayres was also attacked the same day; and the day after a man who visited the old Negro; a fellow-servant of the old Negro, was also attacked within ten days.”

A neighboring plantation owner, “Mr. Donaldson does not know how the cholera reached his plantation. He had just built new quarters, cleaned up the premises, whitewashed the cabins, and used every customary precaution. Obstinate diarrhea, influenza, and croup had been epidemic among the Negroes some weeks before, and up to the first case of cholera.

“There were about 190 or 200 on the place, very few escaped a slight attack; the most of them took some medicine; the overseer and Mr. D.’s lady and children were attacked. Major Nelson and Mr. D, who had visited various places where the cholera was raging, escaped entirely.”

The Bibb plantation was close to Thibodaux: “The cholera appeared here about the 1st of May; some of the Negroes were in the habit of visiting Thibodaux, but these were not the first attacked; a woman and an infant, neither of whom had been off the place, were the first cases.

It would be years before the role of bacteria-contaminated drinking water in such epidemics was understood.

The Courier is looking for old photographs and memories that go with them to run in this feature. In order to protect your photos, do not send unsolicited pictures. Instead, contact Bill Ellzey at 876-5638 and leave a message. You may also write to him at: The Courier, P.O. Box 2717, Houma, LA 70361, or contact him via e-mail at ellzey@mobiletel.com.

<p>Thibodaux's Leonidas Polk is best remembered as the “fighting bishop,” for taking leave of his Episcopal flock to serve as a Confederate general in the Civil War, but he had earlier battled deadly cholera among his slaves on Leighton plantation.</p><p>“The cholera appeared the winter of 1848-49,” Mrs. Polk wrote in her “notes.” Her words, and those of Bishop Polk, were quoted in the 1893 biography, “Leonidas Polk, Bishop and General,” by William Mecklenburg Polk.</p><p>“Great pains were taken by my husband to preserve the health of the Negroes by clothing them in flannel and having their quarters under extraordinary police and sanitary regulations,” she wrote.</p><p>Cholera, an acute, diarrheal illness caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, has been largely controlled by antibiotics and sanitary practices, but in mid-1800, science had not learned it was spread by contaminated food and water.</p><p>Despite the personal ministrations of the bishop and his wife, apparently out of genuine humanitarian concern, cholera in 1849 killed more that 100 of Leighton plantation's Negro slaves. The bishop himself was stricken and survived.</p><p>“We were absolutely so occupied as hardly to have a moment for anything but attention to the sick and dying, so could do nothing in the way of advising our friends of our condition,” Polk wrote to a family friend.</p><p>“Of all the population on my place, white and black, amounting to over four hundred souls ... not more than, say, fifty did not have the disease. We lost one hundred and six, among them some of our best people. You will regret to hear that our old friend, Jeff (a slave) was of the number. He died as a Christian would desire to die, at his post. He was of great service as a nurse, and was most faithful.”</p><p>Mrs. Polk worked among the sick morning to late evening “going from bedside to bedside trying to soothe and comfort the sick and dying: whilst the bishop went from house to house, encouraging and brightening by his presence; always near the dying, praying fervently for the departing spirit.</p><p>“The first cases were on the 11th day of May, 1849,” Mrs. Polk reported. “In a few hours five deaths occurred. The best medical skill was obtained; but medicine and attention seemed powerless.</p><p>“In five weeks 76 souls were hurried into eternity; thirty other persons were so enfeebled that they all died within three weeks. ... At one period of the epidemic, of 396 Negroes on the place, there were not enough well to take care of the sick.</p><p>“The last case of the cholera occurred on the 7th of June, when a very fine servant named Wright, by trade a blacksmith, was attacked. His master had been reading and praying with him. Wright raised his head, and said, 'Master, lift me up.' 'I am afraid to, Wright,' the bishop replied; 'the doctors say it may be fatal.'</p><p>“ 'I am dying now, master; lift me up.' The bishop raised him, when Wright suddenly threw his arms around his master's neck, and exclaimed, 'Now, master, I can die in peace. I do love you so I have often wanted to hug you, and now let me die with my head on your breast and you praying for me.' His wish was complied with, and soon he was at rest.”</p><p>Within two years, Polk realized Leighton could not recover from the epidemic and damages from a subsequent destructive wind storm.</p><p>“That the revenues of his plantation would be insufficient to discharge the heavy debts which had accumulated ... after a series of negotiations, Leighton passed from his possession.”</p><p>The 1849 U.S. cholera epidemic was studied by English physician James Wynne, who included surveys of Thibodaux area plantation losses in his 1852 report to British health authorities.</p><p>The surveys sought information about contacts among victims and the weather at the time of the epidemic.</p><p>Col. Key, whose “residence and Negro quarters (were) two miles below Thibodaux” said his slaves first attacked had been making sugar, and had had no contact with the bayou or Thibodaux.</p><p>“The first case ... was a young Negro man, subject to diarrhea; he died. The weather was then misty, cloudy, and warm for the season (December and January).</p><p>“In April the cholera reappeared; two men and a child died within the first week ... about 20 attacks again occurred. The weather was delightful. The disease appeared again in the last of May ... in all 60 or 65 attacks and nine deaths.</p><p>“There were about 150 on the place; none of the adjoining neighbors had the disease.”</p><p>The Lafourche surveys revealed no patterns supporting either weather or personal contact transmission of the cholera. “How the poison reached here we cannot tell, nor are we disposed to deny that it has remained ever since its arrival.”</p><p>Death could be frighteningly sudden: “Mr. Ayres, a respectable mechanic, of good habits, was working on a plantation three or four miles up the bayou, on which there had been no cholera; he was attacked with diarrhea ... then got on a horse, and rode to town; was almost exhausted when he arrived; began to vomit, and continued to purge until he collapsed and died.</p><p>“The next morning an old Negro man who waited on him, went into collapse without any known warning, and died. A female who came over to see Ayres was also attacked the same day; and the day after a man who visited the old Negro; a fellow-servant of the old Negro, was also attacked within ten days.”</p><p>A neighboring plantation owner, “Mr. Donaldson does not know how the cholera reached his plantation. He had just built new quarters, cleaned up the premises, whitewashed the cabins, and used every customary precaution. Obstinate diarrhea, influenza, and croup had been epidemic among the Negroes some weeks before, and up to the first case of cholera.</p><p>“There were about 190 or 200 on the place, very few escaped a slight attack; the most of them took some medicine; the overseer and Mr. D.'s lady and children were attacked. Major Nelson and Mr. D, who had visited various places where the cholera was raging, escaped entirely.”</p><p>The Bibb plantation was close to Thibodaux: “The cholera appeared here about the 1st of May; some of the Negroes were in the habit of visiting Thibodaux, but these were not the first attacked; a woman and an infant, neither of whom had been off the place, were the first cases.</p><p>“There were 330 on the place, nearly 300 were treated for cholera, 69 died, 9 collapsed cases recovered.</p><p>“Neither of my adjoining neighbors were attacked by the epidemic.”</p><p>It would be years before the role of bacteria-contaminated drinking water in such epidemics was understood.</p><p>The Courier is looking for old photographs and memories that go with them to run in this feature. In order to protect your photos, do not send unsolicited pictures. Instead, contact Bill Ellzey at 876-5638 and leave a message. You may also write to him at: The Courier, P.O. Box 2717, Houma, LA 70361, or contact him via e-mail at ellzey@mobiletel.com.</p>